One of the first things Team Chariot tells people being trained is to puff or breathe … properly.
Strange but true, when under stress or concentrating we all hold our breath. Most of us do it. So focused on our activity that our body tenses up, poised yet unable to move. Somehow hoping to be invisible as we await our own response or answer.
A wrong thought in fitness is that if someone can hear us breathing it will be a sign of weakness, showing how unfit we are. We think our ego will get washed away and everyone will think less of us.
Well, in Team Chariot outdoor fitness training neither of those are happening. The emphasis is for everyone to be free to sound like an old steam train (heavy breathing). In fact, it’s encouraged, puffing out billows of breathe (like steam train smoke). Humour helps with this – remember the children’s TV cartoon Ivor the engine?
The body is fantastically designed, but we still need to help it. We all need air, so breathe it in, long and deep. And at difficult times, suck the air in, hold for a few seconds, then blow it out slowly. This little exercise is useful to practice until it becomes second nature.
Outdoor fitness training is more physical than you may think. While going up and down hills, under fallen trees, clambering over obstacles then jogging, the breathing practice is very helpful – stops you falling over. Balance, co-ordination, communication and all your senses need you to breathe. So breathe like an old steam train.
Pete Biz